


alive at every hour

by Windmire



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: First Dates, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 10:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15362163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windmire/pseuds/Windmire
Summary: So maybe it takes a while before they have their first date, even after they get together. And maybe Gotham's not the best city for this kind of thing.But they'll get to the end of it somehow.





	alive at every hour

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moistkise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moistkise/gifts).



> For the prompt: _A cute and fluffy day where Jason and Dick go on a date!! Maybe its their first date after Jason asked Dick out._. It was a lot of fun to write and I hope it's just as fun for you to read!
> 
> And thank you so much to my beta (am I allowed to say their name before reveals haha)! Without you, this fic would've been a whole lot worse. Any mistakes left are entirely my own.

As far as unexpected sights during patrols go, finding the Red Hood standing over two unconscious men out in the middle of a deserted street is... actually not that unexpected, now that he thinks about it.

But it _is_ the first time Dick's greeted by this kind of sight since his relationship with Jason has changed, so to speak.

"Nice work," he says wryly, stepping closer to get a better look at the men. A couple of False Facers—Black Mask's men--by the looks of it. "Just two of them, Hood? They get lost or are you losing your touch?"

But Jason just groans in response, crossing his arms. "Un-fucking-fortunately, they were like this when I found them. I had nothing to do with it this time."

_This time_. Dick bites back a grin. "So is it just me or do you sound disappointed about that?"

The answering silence tells him all he needs to know about what kind of dirty look Jason has to be giving him under that helmet. Good thing he can't find it in him to be even the slightest bit sorry.

"All right, all right." Dick laughs. "So what happened?"

"I'll get back to you on that when I figure it out," Jason says absently. "But they ain't the first guys I've found like this tonight." When Dick opens his mouth to speak, Jason goes on, "And not all False Facers, nah. Some of the others work for Penguin."

"Uh huh." Dick raises an eyebrow. "That must've been extra disappointing." And probably something he'll need to mention to Bruce. "Do you need some help looking into it?"

Jason waves a hand as he circles around the guy nearest him. "Nah, it's fine." He pokes the guy with the toe of his boot and Dick rolls his eyes behind his mask. "I'll catch up to you later, all right? I gotta deal with this."

"Aw, and here I thought we could make it into a date," Dick says, voice light and teasing. "You and me, tracking down whoever's trying to do our job for us, _all alone_."

Jason freezes, a deer caught in the headlights. Dick holds back a laugh.

When no response seems forthcoming though, Dick aims one more grin at him and turns right back around.

Fine, they can talk later.

But he's barely taken two steps, and barely even started to get ready to swing back up onto the nearest building, when Jason lifts his head and calls out, tone urgent. "Hey! Nightwing!"

Dick stops, grin widening. Or they can do this instead. "Yeah?"

"Uh, about that date..."

Dick laughs, turning on his heel again. "Yeah, what about it? Have you changed your mind yet? Are we going somewhere now?"

Jason doesn't move any closer, just keeps staring over at Dick, and taps one finger against the side of his helmet. "Pfft, not exactly. But if you're free this weekend..."

Dick crosses his arms and, suddenly, he really just can't stop smiling. "If I'm free this weekend...?" 

"Jesus, don't make me say it!"

He's tempted to keep pushing and just keep playing dumb, but... Fine, fine. He takes pity on Jason. "Hood, are you seriously asking me out for real right now?"

He was joking when he mentioned it before. Honest.

In the few months they've been doing this... _thing_ , they haven't actually gone on anything that could even be remotely described as a date. Or even talked about it. Oh, they've spent the night together, in more ways than one, even hung out in each other's places with no ulterior motives. But a date?

He wasn't really expecting one, not now and not in the future.

A warm feeling blooms in his chest and he doesn't try to fight it.

"Hell yeah." Jason pauses and, in a more subdued motion, waves a hand in a vague gesture. "That's if you're up to it?"

Dick hums. There's really only one answer he can give to this. "You know what, yeah," he says and doesn't bother to hide the enthusiasm in his voice. "I think I'm definitely up to it. "

"Then that's a yes?"

If he listens carefully, he can hear the uncertain tone to Jason's question even through the helmet, the way his voice wavers at the edges. Not that Jason would ever admit it though.

"Yeah," Dick says with another laugh, loud and bright, and winks. "I won't even make you tell me where we're going yet."

-  
Between his day job and all the cases he's taken on--some with the others, some on his own--when it rolls around, the weekend manages to catch Dick by surprise.

But not as much as one other little thing.

The realization hits him out of nowhere.

He didn't even get the chance to talk to Jason all week. Dropping in to help with a fight here and there doesn't even come close to counting, and it isn't exactly conducive to _talking about their upcoming date_ either.

Crap, crap.

He's going to have to do something about that.

So that Saturday afternoon finds Dick sitting in his apartment, the chime of Jason's voicemail in his ear yet again.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. All right. Great. Their first real date and he's getting stood up. That is, if the reason Jason won't answer isn't because he's gone and gotten himself hurt somewhere.

He better just be getting stood up.

He's dialing Jason's personal phone number again when a knock at his door stops him.

Dick looks up, blowing out a sigh. Yeah, this is so not the time.

Maybe he'll get lucky and it's just his landlady.

Wedging his phone between his ear and his shoulder, just as taps on the number, Dick walks briskly to the door and pulls it open. "Hey, sorry," he says, just as he hears the chime of Jason's voicemail again. "It's great to see you, but I've--"

"...But you've gotta kick me out?"

It's only Dick's reflexes that keep his phone from slipping through his slack fingers and crashing to the ground. "Jason?"

Jason himself, a sheepish smile on his face, greets him, a phone held between his thumb and forefinger. "I take it that means you _were_ calling me? Phone's dead, sorry. I was kinda' busy last night."

"All of last night?" Dick asks on impulse, then frowns, shaking his head helplessly. Yeah, that doesn't matter. Making an effort to keep his voice level, he goes on, "Jesus _Christ_ , Jason. I thought something might have happened to you. We never even decided on where to meet!"

But the truth is the concern melts away quickly enough and Dick can't even really find it in him to be annoyed. Not when, one hand on the doorframe, Jason steps closer to press his lips to the corner of Dick's mouth, pulling away with a slow grin spreading across his face. "Good thing I came to pick you up then, huh?"

Bastard.

"Have you even slept?" he asks instead, though he can't quite hide a smile.

"I slept enough," Jason says dismissively. "You ready yet or what?"

Dick doesn't roll his eyes. "I still don't even know where we're going," he points out instead, though he backs away from the doorway nonetheless. Jason follows him.

"I'll tell you on the way. Promise."

"Yeah, yeah, fine. Hold on."

And maybe he's thinking a little about revenge when he lets it go so quickly and instead leans up to press a kiss to Jason's cheek in return. Then he's pulling away to grab his jacket off the table, and Jason's reaction is so totally worth it.

It's downright adorable--though he's not about to say that out loud--how they can spend the whole day in bed no problem and it's something as simple as a kiss to the cheek that has Jason's ears turning bright red.

Yeah, this is going to be fun.

-

First dates aren't something Dick's very familiar with anymore. Usually, he's either got no time for them in the first place, or he's with someone with whom a first date just _doesn't_ happen. It is, after all, a little hard to go on a date with someone when nearly every single time they meet they're either in the middle of their night jobs or recovering from them. Not to mention how absurd the idea can seem in the first place.

He thought this relationship with Jason would be the same way. Hell, he never even thought he'd get this far with Jason, if he's more honest than he strictly wants to be. Not when, at first, it seemed like there were just too many obstacles, just too much in the way of them ever managing to make this work.

But months later, they're still together and Dick isn't even sure what to do with himself some days, when he sees Jason but his heart immediately feels warmer, fuller. When he sees Jason and he feels like he could just keep staring at him for the rest of his life, like no one else would even matter.

And that's kind of a scary thought, sometimes, that he's already in this deep.

But he can't regret it either, not with the way the fast, fast thump of his heart whenever he looks at Jason is slowly turning into a quiet kind of calm.

He could get used to it.

No. He thinks he might really, really want to get used to it.

Half an hour later and they're out on the city, just getting off a train station.

"All right." Dick laughs, when Jason remains just as tightlipped as when he first asked Dick on this date. "I'm stumped, where are we going?" He has his suspicions, of course, they're downtown now, but what's the point in ruining the surprise this one time?

Jason sticks his hands in his pockets, an uncertain smile on his face. "It's supposed to be a surprise, you know? But..." He shrugs. "You ain't exactly the easiest guy to pick somewhere for, you know? So I figured..." He looks up, one eyebrow raised in challenge. "I'm gonna take you on the most cliché first date of your life, Dickie. Really rock your world that way."

Dick looks up at Jason questioningly. "What? Dinner and a movie?" Jason does something with his face that may or may not be pointing toward a _yes_ and Dick can't help the way his lips keep twitching. "Why, Jay, that's _so_ romantic!" he croons.

"Oh, shut up!"

Dick bursts into laughter. "No. No, seriously," he says, leaning against Jason and muffling his laughter against his shoulder. "I mean it. I love it!"

"Jesus," Jason mutters. "Then stop laughing at me already!"

He only laughs all the harder, shaking his head and leaning further against Jason. "Seriously, it'll be fun." He grabs Jason's arm and straightens up, and maybe he can have a little fun with this, too.

Jason grumbles something under his breath. And it would be perfect from here on out, he's damn sure of it. If not for the sudden _crashing_ sound further down the street they were about to cross.

Oh. That's. Great.

"Uh," he says, just as he barely manages to avoid running right into the couple walking in front of them. "What happened this time..."

"Trouble," Jason says warily. "You think if we're real quick, we can just pretend we never saw any of this?"

Even as he says it though, Dick doesn't miss the way one of Jason's hands twitches at his side, like he's just itching to rush right in and intervene.

And to think he's usually such a good liar.

So Dick strides forward to take a peek around the corner anyway. He can't even find it in him to be surprised when it's more of Penguin's men he finds, laid out on the street with a handful of other men fleeing the scene.

That's familiar.

Jason jogs up behind him, one hand immediately finding his arm. "You've gotta be kidding me!" he blurts out. "More of these? What the hell have they been doing?"

"Territory dispute?" Dick asks wryly. It wouldn't surprise him. It's probably been too long already since any of the usual baddies were fighting each other.

Jason groans. "Yeah, I kinda' figured that. This is the worst fucking timing ever." He huffs. And, because regardless of what he says, Dick still knows Jason can't just ignore this kind of thing, he goes on, "Okay, you got any weapons on you?"

"Uh, not exactly," Dick says. "And I hope you don't either."

Jason shifts on his feet. He'll take that as confirmation.

He can't really find it in him to be surprised.

Luckily, or unluckily, they're saved from having to get their hands dirty by Batgirl crashing onto the scene, just as Jason's beginning to look like he might actually run in and deal with it himself, guns blazing.

Just in time.

"Sorry about the trouble, people!" Stephanie calls over her shoulder, aiming a grin at them. To her credit, she doesn't even flinch when she spots Dick and Jason. She just smiles even wider and whirls around, hands on her hips. "I'll take care of it. You all go about your days!"

"Someone didn't take PR lessons from Batman," Jason mutters in his ear and Dick snorts in response.

Steph doesn't seem to hear any of that--or she ignores it--which is probably for the best, all considered.

With a salute from Batgirl as their dismissal just before she runs off, the slowly-forming crowd is left to watch as the other men, False Facers flee from her. Dick shoves at Jason's shoulder and nods toward the other side of the street, where people are already doing their very best to ignore the commotion down the street. Along with the sound of Batgirl's yelling.

Ah, Gotham.

"That was fun," Dick says brightly, once they're walking side by side again. "We should do it again. Maybe actually help Batgirl next time." He slips his hand into Jason's, and doesn't bother to hide his grin at the incredulous look Jason aims at him. "So what's next?"

-

Dick doesn't remember much of the movie they watch afterwards. But he does remember, very clearly, how close Jason sat to him the whole time. And he remembers stretching out and letting his arm fall over Jason's shoulders, and the way that, without a word, Jason leaned into him.

There are explosions, he thinks, and a dashing hero setting them off. Pretty mindless all in all, but fun enough to make even Jason laugh a few times.

Not bad, as far as dates to the movies go. He thinks he might be starting to gain a whole newfound appreciation for the old dating clichés.

Dinner afterward is quiet enough. Jason takes him to a small, cozy place he's somehow never been to before. With good food, low lighting, and the soft murmur of people around them, he's got no complaints.

And Dick's more than a little charmed by then, especially when Jason actually _relaxes_ and it's like seeing a whole new side of him.

And he really, really likes it.

Jason ducks his head, but it doesn't keep Dick from spotting the smile that spreads across his face, awkward and uncertain, but still there nonetheless.

Oh, Jesus, so much for flustering _Jason_.

Dick's reaching across the table, intent on doing something about that, thank you very much, when the screaming starts.

He squeezes his eyes shut tightly, just a moment where he can try to collect himself. It's just him, the darkness, and the crowd screaming around him.

So much for that.

It's like a chain reaction, how the screaming spreads from the tables farthest from them to the ones surrounding them.

When he opens his eyes again, Jason's looking out at the commotion, his face slowly turning from bewildered to thoughtful. "All right, Dickie," he says. "I guess we do gotta deal with that this time."

Dick pulls himself up to his feet, watching as Jason does the same across from him. So be it, then.

Jason at his heels, Dick pushes past the panicking crowd, many of them running deeper into the restaurant.

"Jesus Christ," Jason says, once they've got a clear enough look at the entrance. "Fucking _again_?"

Dick winces. Penguin's men again. And False Facers.

Jeez, they really did go out right in the middle of some territory dispute, didn't they? Honestly, he doesn't usually have luck this bad on all his other first dates. Or most of them in any case. He can be a big enough person to admit that.

"Y'know what, maybe the Red Hood should show up tonight and show 'em who's territory this really is," Jason says venomously, quiet enough that only Dick can hear.

He doesn't really have an answer to that. Except maybe rolling his eyes and pulling someone out of the way of _something_ flying toward them.

Easy.

Three frightened civilians pushed toward the back of the restaurant next, Dick and Jason muscle their way right to the entrance.

And Dick's not sure why exactly he's surprised to see Red Robin barreling right into the baddies then.

"Nice timing," Jason mutters, irritation in his voice.

Dick grins right at Red Robin, who stops and _stares_ , just for a moment, before turning right back around and knocking one of Penguin's men upside the head with his staff.

" _You little_ \--"

Jason lets out a low whistle. "Not as awful as I expected." Then he grabs Dick's arm and nods toward the side door. "So he's got it. Kid's not dead. Let's go."

"Jason..." As far as attempts to just get away from Tim go, it's pretty damn transparent, with how bad a job Jason had been doing at hiding the fact he wanted to interfere. But he gets the feeling Jason isn't even trying to hide that anyway.

"Come on, he'll be fine."

Dick sighs. "You know he's helping us now, right?"

"Yep. And he hasn't died during it and we're in the middle of a date, come on!"

Luckily for Dick, Tim must have overheard _something_.

He gives them a thumbs up over his shoulder, just as he's twirling around to take someone else out.

Dick sighs again.

-

By the time they get out of _that_ , night's fallen and Jason leads him to a rooftop. It's one of the buildings Jason's got a safe house in, one of many in the city. It's empty and there's not much more than a short ledge separating them from the edge, but the breeze is nice and the sounds of the city make for good background noise.

"Okay, so..." Jason shifts on his feet. "It's not like there's really a lot to see up here when you're in the middle of the city, but I figured..." He shrugs, huffing out a breath. "Figured this was a better end to a date than just ending up back inside the apartment? And no one's about to interrupt us up here... But I guess I get it if this is boring or whatever, we can always just..."

Dick smiles and just leans against the ledge, elbows resting against it. "Just come over here with me, Jason. It's fine.."

When he does, Dick leans against him, tangles his fingers with Jason's on top of the ledge, and waits.

Sure enough, it doesn't take long before Jason's turning their hands over and holding his properly, all without a word.

Dick grins. "Interruptions aside..." He laughs. "This has been really nice. Thanks, Jason. I didn't..." And maybe he can let himself have some honesty, too, at least while they're alone up here. "You know, I didn't really think this was going to happen between us. A, some kind of date, I guess. I'm glad you asked me."

Jason's hand tightens around his.

Then he mutters something under his breath and won't quite meet Dick's eyes when he turns his head, but that's not a complaint he hears. He clears his throat. "Yeah. No problem. Next time we'll go somewhere none of them will bother us."

_Next time_.

He lets Jason's hand go, turning his head to face him fully. Slowly, he leans in to press a soft kiss to Jason's cheek, and another to the corner of his mouth. The skin under his lips grows warm, Jason's hands finding and tightening around his shoulders, and Dick grins against him.

Mission accomplished.

He tilts his head, changes the angle in preparation of giving Jason a proper kiss, what he hasn't done in days and, god, does he want to rectify that fast. Preferably as many times as he possibly can tonight.

It's just a shame about the yelling that erupts on the street below them.

A common enough sound in Gotham, but Dick still has to make sure it's nothing they should deal with.

Dick doesn't immediately spring into action. He leans forward, where he manages to catch sight of a group of men already embroiled in a fight down on the street: the same gangs as the rest of the night.

Because of course it's them.

Predictably, Red Robin and Batgirl are just as quick to arrive on the scene and, after making sure neither of them looks hurt in any way, he leans back again.

"Maybe today was just a bad day," he says dryly, watching as Batgirl knocks a guy down.

Jason mutters something under his breath in response. Then, in a louder voice, "Eh." And that might or might not be a small smile when Red Robin stumbles back. Dick rolls his eyes. "Could've been worse."

"You think so?"

"Yeah." He nods down at the street below them. " _They_ coulda' taken the night off."

Yeah, about that... "We should probably..." Dick frowns down at where Red Robin and Batgirl are fighting, oblivious to the two of them up on the roof.

Jason finds his hand on his leg and covers it with his own. "We could," he says softly. "But I think they got it under control, don't you?"

He's tempted to just leave them to it. He can't deny that to himself. And it's not like Batgirl and Red Robin don't deal with this kind of thing often, or like he _should_ be interfering in every little scrap they have.

" _Come on_ , Dickhead. Leave it to them."

Dick sighs and taps one of the fingers of his free hand against his chest. "We're here. We can help. We can't just leave them to deal with that mess." He shoves at his shoulder. "Since when do you wanna stay out of the action anyway?"

Jason puts his hands on Dick's shoulders and looks him straight in the eye. "Dick, Dick, Dickie. I asked you on a date. Can we at least get the whole way through it?"

Dick covers one of Jason's hands with his own and frowns up at him. The idea is honestly... more than a little appealing. And Tim and Stephanie definitely do have it under control. But... Maybe if they... He grins, and he doesn't know whether it's more for his benefit or Jason's. "I don't know. That's a lot of people to deal with. What happens if we just leave them alone?"

Jason rolls his eyes. "Same thing as all the other times today. We go on with our date, maybe actually finish it. And maybe..."

"Maybe what? We actually make it home?"

With a soft laugh, Jason kisses him, slow and gentle, his hands on Dick's arms, and really. Did he need any answer beyond that?

"Then it's a date."

Jason groans, squeezing his eyes shut. But it can't hide the grin that spreads across his face. "I swear to god, could you be any cornier, Dickface?"

"Just for you!" he says sweetly, so exaggerated he can barely even stand it himself.

And the face Jason pulls? Nothing short of adorable. _Again_.

So Dick pulls him in for a proper kiss and doesn't miss the way Jason smiles into it.

Yeah. He thinks they did all right, for a first date.

"Maybe that next time," he says softly, when Jason pulls away, though he's still close enough Dick can feel his breath on his face. "We should just go to Metropolis instead."

Jason bursts into laughter, loud and _happy_.

And it's the best damn thing Dick's heard all week.


End file.
